Why it comes in pieces
Getting rid of mice in an old Grand Rapids house is less like spraying for ants and more like tracing a leak. The droppings in the kitchen are the drip. The source might be a gap at the sill plate, a hollow block on the back wall, or a dryer vent with a missing flap. At Grand Rapids Rodent Control we break the job into stages because each stage answers a different question: what is here, how did it get in, how do we get it out, and how do we keep the next one away.
Rats and mice need different handling, too. A Norway rat living under the garage slab will avoid a trap for days. A house mouse in the pantry wall will usually check it out the first night. So a rat plan and a mouse plan look different from the first visit.
Pick the one that matches your situation
If two of these sound right, that is normal. If none of them fit, call and tell us what you are seeing.
- Rat Control
Brown rats in this city tend to live along the river, in alleys and beneath detached garages, and they often reach a house through a cracked clay sewer line or a gap low on the foundation. Our rat work covers both sides of the wall: outdoor burrows and stations, indoor trapping, and a durable seal at the end so a new colony has no doorway.
- Mice Exterminator
House mice are the classic fall caller in Kent County. Older homes with balloon framing let them travel from basement to attic unseen, and attached garages, firewood and stored boxes give them plenty of rides inside. We trap the ones already living with you, close up the openings they used, and suggest a few storage changes that make next year quieter.
- Rodent Inspection
Before trapping or sealing, it helps to know exactly what you are up against. We go over Michigan basements and crawlspaces, block and stone walls, utility penetrations, garage corners and attic vents, and we note where snow banks against the house in winter. You leave with photos, a written list of entry points and an honest read on activity.
- Rodent Trapping & Removal
Our traplines follow rub marks, droppings and tracks rather than guesses, and every trap sits inside a station so pets and children stay clear. We count catches on each return visit, move what is not working, and tighten the line until the house goes quiet. Outdoor bait for rats is used only in locked boxes, and only after we discuss it with you.
- Rodent Exclusion & Sealing
Steel wool rusts and foam gets chewed, so our sealing relies on materials rodents cannot get through. That means repointing tired fieldstone, fitting new bottom seals and corner guards on overhead doors, screening foundation and gable vents, and packing pipe gaps at the sill. Sealing happens only after trapping has cleared the house, never before.
- Attic Rodent Cleanup
Months of rodent traffic leave cellulose and fiberglass packed down, stained and smelly. We air out the space, soak contamination with disinfectant before lifting anything, as the CDC recommends, then remove and replace what cannot be saved. Deer mouse droppings get the same careful handling, and suspected vermiculite is left alone until a lab has tested it.
- Commercial Rodent Control
Businesses need records as much as results. For kitchens, taprooms, distribution floors and multi-unit housing, we set up a numbered station layout, service it on a regular calendar and log every finding where your managers can see it. Interior spaces get traps only, and we work on dock doors, dumpster areas and shared walls where rats and mice come in.
The usual order of work
We almost always begin with a rodent inspection, because guessing at entry points wastes time and money. Trapping comes next and runs until the catches and fresh signs stop. Exclusion follows, with steel mesh, sheet metal, mortar and door sweeps closing the openings we found. If an attic or crawlspace has been lived in for a while, the cleanup is the last step.
Changing that order causes problems. Seal first and you trap mice inside your walls. Trap without sealing and the same entry hole lets in a fresh group by the next cold snap.
Homes and businesses
Most of our calls are from houses, but restaurants, small shops, churches and rental buildings have rodent trouble too, often with health inspections and deliveries to plan around. Our commercial rodent control covers how we schedule and document that work.
Not sure where you fit? Read the page for rats or mice first, whichever animal you think you have, and go from there.
What none of these services include
We do not sell monthly spray plans, and we do not leave a bucket of bait in the basement and call it done. Each service on this list has a clear end point: the inspection ends with a written list of openings, trapping ends when the fresh signs stop, and sealing ends when every gap we found has been closed with something a rodent cannot get through.
We also leave insects, bats, squirrels and raccoons to other people. If we arrive and find that the noise in your attic belongs to a squirrel rather than a mouse, we will tell you, point out where it is getting in, and suggest you call a wildlife specialist.
A good first step for most people is simply a phone call. Describe the droppings, the noises and where they are, and we can usually tell you which of these services you are likely to need before anyone sets foot in the house.